Pancakes, zoning and coaching kidsScatter shooting while wondering whatever happened to Steve Clark. Pancakes Friday’s pancakes and sausage breakfast at the American Legion Hut was pretty damn good. It was an all-you-can-eat affair to raise money for the American Legion baseball program, but I only had three cakes and three sausage patties. I consider pancakes to be holy food, almost manna from Heaven, so you understand how good I felt when I finished. At about 7:45 a.m. the o...

I vowed I would never be ‘too old’ for my kidsMy dad was Airborne, jumped at D-Day, Market Garden, was in the Battle of the Bulge and the Hertzgen Forest. After the war, he was an investigator at the Nuremberg Trials (Heinrich Himmler was his target), and then, an agent in Berlin for 20 years. Tough guy for a kid, but he was my dad. I was born in Berlin, I was 6 when the wall went up – most people only know the place because of when the wall went down. I was 8 years old, and my dad and I ...

What will your legacy be?The word legacy is an interesting one on the English language. It means, according to the dictionary, “1: Money or property left to you by a will; bequeath. 2. Something handed down from, or as from, an ancestor to a descendant.” I might add this “something” can include a wide range of things in addition to money or property. The list could include our accomplishments, honors, a foundation, trust or other means to carry on our good name to be ...

Lessons from the courtThe modern world of college and professional athletics is often known more for its excesses than its moderation. Athletes and coaches are viewed as celebrities who receive millions of dollars for their talents. More than a few are characterized by their hot tempers, immoral lifestyles, outlandish comments and illegal conduct. John Wooden, former basketball coach at UCLA, was the antithesis of many of today’s coaches. Coach Wooden’s life and ca...

Stronger, weaker brothersRomans chapter 12 through chapter 15 tells man how to be godly and righteous in every conceivable relationship he could ever possibly have. Romans 12 begins by laying down the foundational relationship upon which every other human relationship rests, the relationship with the Creator. Next the Holy Spirit told us how to properly relate to other believers. Then He turned His attention to how we relate to society including our enemies. Chapter 1...

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Pastor Steve EllisonThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Calm down on voter ID debateOne of the issues being hotly debated by the state Legislature this year is a new law requiring voters to show photo identification to cast their ballot. The proposal has brought out passionate arguments from those for and against, although it is difficult to understand why it rose to be such a hot-button issue. The proposed law — Senate Bill 2 — is sponsored by Republican Sen. Bryan King of Green Forrest. King has proposed similar bills in pr...

Mental healthIn today’s article, I want to discuss mental health and the stigma sometimes associated with it as well as some specific disorders. Unlike the more conventional medical problems like strokes, flu or kidney stones, mental health issues are not as readily accepted by the general public. This perception has improved over the years with more public figures talking about issues such as depression but there is still a lot to be done to build an acce...

Obtaining concealed carry license isn’t easy or cheapSince the Arkansas Legislature is hell-bent on solving the nation’s mass murder problem by putting more guns in the public arena, applications for permits to carry a concealed weapon will probably soar. After all, if you don’t know who else is carrying a gun, or whether that person is sane, you’d better have your own piece, just in case a gunfight breaks out. You can apply online through the Arkansas State Police Web site (www.asp.state.ar.us)...

Abraham LincolnSteven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” has been a box-office hit and nominated for 12 Academy Awards, including best picture, best director and best actor for Daniel Day-Lewis, who portrayed our 16th president. I haven’t seen the movie; therefore, this column is not about the movie but about a man deified by many. My colleague Thomas DiLorenzo, economics professor at Loyola University Maryland, exposed some of the Lincoln myth in his 2006 book, “Lincoln...

Ya know what’s wrong with this country?“Ya know what’s wrong with this country?” I say, asking the crusty old question after the manner of the crusty old man I am rapidly becoming. Lemme tell ya. Crusty or not, I shop online. I shop enough at one online store that they offered me a credit card good only at their store. “Ah, convenience,” I sighed. And it was convenient. The credit card was all mine, no wife involved, so when I wanted one of this company’s products, I could buy it a...

Seed swap helps preserve plant varieties for future generationsIt’s getting close to spring planting time, and many of you are probably readying your garden beds and ordering seeds. If you are a seed saver, perhaps you’re taking stock of what you gathered from last year’s harvest. Both experienced and beginner gardeners are invited to attend the Russellville Seed Swap Saturday February 23rd from 2:00-4:00 pm at the All Saints Episcopal Church at 501 South Phoenix. This is a great opportunity to visit with...

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Meredith Martin-MoatsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Parental rights, race in school choice debateShould parents in Arkansas be able to choose what schools their children attend without restriction? If so, would that result in racial resegregation in parts of the state, with mostly white schools in one part of the county and schools with mostly minority students in another part? If so, what should the state do to discourage that from happening? Legislators are asking those questions because Arkansas’ previous school choice law was declared...

Time to start talking about tax renewalThe talk is starting to pick up a bit about the city of Russellville’s proposal to renew the 1-cent sales tax that has been collected for the past five-plus years to fund such projects as street and drainage improvements around the city. That 1-cent sales tax expires at the end of this year, and the extension of the tax would renew the collection of the sales tax for another six years. Mayor Bill Eaton said an election date would likely be set...

Analysis: Medicaid taking a back seat on agenda LITTLE ROCK (AP) — What happened to the Medicaid session? Despite all the talk before lawmakers gathered at the Arkansas Capitol that Medicaid’s finances and future would overshadow just about every other issue, there’s been scant attention paid to the $5 billion program and efforts to expand it under the federal health care law. Medicaid is instead taking a backseat to a growing number of conservative causes — new abortion restrictions, relax...

The glory of GodFor the purpose of our devotion this week, I would like to use John Chapter 1 verse 14. In the King James Version it reads “and the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, as of the only begotten of the father,) full of grace and truth.” I wish to focus on the “Glory” as referred to in this verse. The annual Lenten worship services sponsored and prepared by the Russellville Area Ministerial Association began Wednesday....

Could he be right?Here is a question I would like for you to think with me about for a few minutes today. I might add that this question has far reaching consequences for our nation in the years to come. The question is, “Could he be right?” In this case, the “he” is Albert Einstein, the German-born physicist who won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1921. Dr. Einstein developed the theory of relativity and is considered the most influential physicist of the 20th c...

Writing our American storyStories are important not as simple entertainment, but also as education and indoctrination. What we believe happened in the past and the stories we highlight shade our present and influence our future. The best stories not only have a moral, where good triumphs over evil, but engage us intellectually and also emotionally. Tuesday night, President Barack Obama delivered his first State of the Union address for his second term on the floor of t...

PuckOn the day I moved into my house, seven years ago almost to the day, Puck rang my doorbell. She welcomed me, told me how much she liked my house and that she had been living next door to it for 50 years, and how close she was to the seller (whom everyone else disparaged). She had just one favor to ask. Her husband, George, was dying. Time was short. The air conditioner on my roof made a terribly loud noise. Would I mind turning it down (even t...

A thoughtful Valentine’s Day giftWell, it looks like another lonely Valentine’s Day for me. Unlike this guy, I plan on staying out of jail. But this report does explain why those TV commercials showing women who go nuts over those big teddy bears. Lawrence Ligocki, 62, of Chelsea, Mass., was arrested and charged with drug possession and trafficking after he allegedly received a package containing not only several heart-shaped boxes of chocolate, but also a teddy bear stuffed ...

System fails to detect mental illnessFirst District Congressman Rick Crawford makes no sense when he opposes expanded background checks for people who purchase firearms while at the same time contending that we should strengthen the ability to identify and keep guns out of the hands of people with mental illness. You simply can’t have one without the other. Crawford was right last week when he told representatives of The Jonesboro Sun that “the real core problem” with the ever-le...